Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men: Character Study The American Novelist, John Steinbeck was a powerful writer of dramatic stories about good versus bad. His own views on writing were that not only should a writer make the story sound good but also the story written should teach a lesson. In fact, Steinbeck focused many of his novels, not on average literary themes rather he tended to relay messages about the many hard truths of life in The United States. Upon winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 the Swedish academy introduced him by saying "He had no mind to be an unoffending comforter and entertainer. Instead, the topics he chose were serious and denunciatory" This serious focus was not exempt from his two works "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men". "The Grapes of Wrath" has been recognized by many as "the greatest novel in American History" and it remains among the archetypes of American culture. Although "Of Mice and Men" may not have received as much fanfare as the other it is still a great classic that was recently made into a motion picture. The focus of "The Grapes of Wrath" Is one family, the Joads, who has been kicked off their Oklahoma farm and forced to move to California to look for work. The story has historical significance as it is true that many families were forced, in the same way as the Joads, to leave their homes to look for work during the depression. It is in this fact that one can see how Steinbeck's intention in "The grapes of Wrath" was to depict the hardships people went through during an actual event in American history. Perhaps the most solemn message in this novel was the poor treatment of the dispossessed families as they reached California. In "Of Mice and Men" the reader is presented with a story that takes place in the same setting of "The Grapes of Wrath" This story details the hardships of two traveling companions while they are working at a ranch in California. The common thread between these two novels is not necessarily the plot or the setting rather, it is the way in which Steinbeck relays his message. That is to say that, although both novels carry different story lines they both portray hard truths about human suffering. Steinbeck reveals these truths through his depiction of characters. In each story it seems that the characters were crafted by Steinbeck in a bias manner so as to emphasize the overall message of the book. It is quite obvious that all of Steinbeck's characters are either good or bad. Steinbeck himself said "as with all retold tales that are in people's heart's there are only good and bad things and black and white things and no in-between anywhere" In both novels the dispossessed characters are good and well intentioned and the wealthy people are brutal and mean. This of course is done to make the situation seem all that more hard on the dispossessed characters. In "The Grapes of Wrath" the character of young Tom Joad is a prime example of how bias Steinbeck's portrayal was. With a quick glance at the history of Tom's life one would say that he is not really the good guy. Yet after reading "The Grapes of Wrath" the reader feels sorry for Tom and all of his faults are justified because of his situation. Likewise, the characters of Ma and the preacher, Jim Casey do not fit their traditional roles but, again, their actions are justified by Steinbeck. In the same way, the book "Of Mice and Men" portrays two men (Lennie and George) running from the law, looking for work. Lennie is a mentally handicap person who brings most of the trouble to the pair. Yet, despite all of his downsides the reader is made to feel sorry for him. George is portrayed in a good way until the end of the book where he kills Lennie, and even then the reader feels for George because of the predicament he is in. The rest of the characters in both novels are the rich and powerful. In "The grapes of Wrath" these rich people were not even given names and Steinbeck's dislike for them is obvious. This fact truly illustrates the message he is trying to get across . In "Of mice and Men" the boss and his son Curley are portrayed as the bad guys.
take there land away from them . He was not happy because himself and his
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck had many comparisons from the movie and the book. In 1939, this story was to have some of the readers against the ones that kept the American people in poverty held responsible for their actions. This unique story was about the Joad’s family, who were migrant workers looking for a good decent job. They were also farmers from Oklahoma that are now striving to find some good work and success for their family in California. This novel was one of Steinbeck’s best work he has ever done. It was in fact an Academy Award movie in 1940. Both the movie and the novel are one of Steinbeck’s greatest masterpieces on both the filmmaking and the novel writing. Both the novel and film are mainly the same in the beginning of the story and towards the end. There were some few main points that Steinbeck took out from the book and didn’t mention them in the movie. “The Grapes of Wrath is a
drop their life and move to a different state. When they arrived in California they were not
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is considered a classic novel by many in the literary field. The trials and tribulations of the Joad family and other migrants is told throughout this novel. In order to gain a perspective into the lives of "Oakies", Steinbeck uses themes and language of the troubling times of the Great Depression. Some of these aspects are critiqued because of their vulgarity and adult nature. In some places, The Grapes of Wrath has been edited or banned. These challenges undermine Steinbeck's attempts to add reality to the novel and are unjustified.
‘O is a modern spin on Othello that attempts to address issues that are relevant for a contemporary audience. However, ultimately the literary value of Othello is lost in this appropriation”
Wyatt, David. New Essays on the Grapes of Wrath. New York: Cambridge UP, 1990. Print.
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel that shows a nation when it is at one of its lowest points economically. During the 1930’s the great depression too place and this story is a depiction of what many families who owned farmland during that time went though. The Joads were a average farming family in Oklahoma until the dust bowl hit. During the dust bowls there was always dirt in the air because all of the farm land had dried up and the land was left as a pile of dry dirt. Because they were no longer able to farm the government took many farms right out from under people and left them with nowhere to turn. The Joads were no exception to this. Tom Joad had just gotten out of the penitentiary for killing a man when he found out what had happened to his family in his absence. When he finally found them, they were all packed up to go to California. On the way to California they lost both Grandma and Grandpa. This shows what a sacrifice they were forced to make because they had nowhere else to turn. Once they get to California they find out that all of the handbills had been wrong and there was hardly enough work there for all the immigrants that were coming from all over the Midwest. The Joads certainly see the worst and the best that California has to offer. From locally run farms with bad cops to government run camps with running water and enough of everything to go around. With they had some luck along they way the Joads eventually run out of money and are forced to take refuge in a barn. While in this barn they find a man who is dying and because Rose of Sheran has unused milk she breast feeds the man. The novel ends with this sentence “She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously.” This is suc...
Shakespeare composed Othello during the Golden Age of the Elizabethan Era where society was strongly patriarchal and hierarchal and religion was strongly value. The foreign European setting as well as characteristics of tragedy through the medium of theatre is used by Shakespeare to convey the issues and values of the time without directly insulting English society, compelling the responder to compare them with modern day issues and values. Tim Blake Nelson “O” parallels similar values of Othello’s context through the modern adaptation in the film medium. The adaptation, “O”, through modern day contextual characteristics such violence, stereotypes, competition and equality, both race and gender wise, are used to give a more relevant paradigm of the values and issues brought up in Othello, which the modern day responder can easily relate to.
Texts and their appropriations reflect the context and values of their times. Within Shakespeare’s Othello and Geoffrey Sax’s appropriation of Othello, the evolution of the attitudes held by Elizabethan audiences and those held by contemporary audiences can be seen through the context of the female coupled with the context of racism. The role of the female has developed from being submissive and “obedient” in the Elizabethan era to being independent and liberated within the contemporary setting. The racism of the first text is overtly xenophobic and natural, whilst the “moor” is unnatural whereas the updated context portrays Othello’s race as natural and racism as unnatural. Therefore these examples show how Shakespeare’s Othello, and it’s appropriation, Geoffrey sax’s Othello, reflect the context and values of their times.
Nick Potter states: “Othello is a tragedy of incomprehension, not at the level of intrigue but at the deepest level of human dealings. No one in Othello comes to understand himself or anyone else.” Within Shakespeare’s Othello, no character fully understands themselves of one another. This is especially true in human dealings, where the intentions of characters and how others interpret them are often misaligned. Conflict, and eventually, tragedy arises in Othello due to the incomprehension between characters, as well as within the characters themselves. From the reader’s perspective, it is tragic to understand the reality behind all the incomprehension, since the characters are oblivious to what the readers are aware of.
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 39-55)
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 39-55)
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that exposes the desperate conditions under which the migratory farm families of America during the 1930's live under. The novel tells of one families migration west to California through the great economic depression of the 1930's. The Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. They had to uproot and set adrift because tractors were rapidly industrializing their farms. The bank took possession of their land because the owners could not pay off their loan. The novel shows how the Joad family deals with moving to California. How they survive the cruelty of the land owners that take advantage of them, their poverty and willingness to work.
Othello is a play that evokes many emotions from a reader’s mind. The mood is changing, yet throughout, it demands a lot of contempt for the villain, Iago. Beginning with act one, there is an immediate setting for suspicion which will remain characteristic throughout the whole story. There is a touch of happiness for the newlyweds, Othello and Desdemona, which quickly disintegrates with the mighty villains lies and deceit.
Othello is a play with the ability to transcend time and evolve with changing value systems. It is by considering these different perceptions and their contexts that our understanding and appreciation is enriched.